Homunculus
by Akari-Aiko
Summary: After an intense fight with her dad, Aury Elric decides to run away from home. She thinks she's alone, but she's wrong. Written by Aiko.


_This is the result of a hormonal imbalance after reading "Green Eyed Monster" by Aminess. It's somewhat similair in some areas, I hope you don't mind, Aminess (you guys should really go read her story!). Anyways, Aury and Elliot are Ed's kids. Andy is Al's son. This happens exactly twenty years after the movie (1943), smack-dab in the middle of World War II. THIS IS A ONESHOT. I'm not planning on continuing this. I just needed to let some Envy sadism out of my system. ^^ Enjoy. _

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The streets were empty - it was past curfew. Alex stayed close to the shadows as she walked. Her breath blew fine puffs of mist. She pulled the old red jacket tighter around her shoulders. They musty thing wasn't nearly as warm as it looked. A loneliness numbed the prick of the ice cold air. She wondered what Elliot was doing. No, he must be asleep by now. Andy was probably playing with the cats. Uncle was with him, and Auntie was cleaning up in the kitchen. The scenario didn't seem too unlikely.

Alex pushed her father as far back into her mind as she could. She was sick of him, sick of his stories, sick of him harping over her every move. It had all gone down the toilet when her mom died not but a year ago. And the war wasn't exactly helping. She just wished -

Nazi sirens sounded in the distance. The thin whine was growing louder. There were heading in her direction. Alex looked around wildly. There was an old factory up ahead, boarded up and abandoned. She hurried to a broken window and pried at the planks nailed across the sill. The rotting wood gave way and Alex crawled through the tiny opening. The building was large, completely decrepit from lack of use. Old conveyer belts ran across the floors and walls, rusted and strung with cobwebs. There was a gigantic boiler in the far left corner, and a twisting staircase leading up to the second floor.

Headlights shone around her. Alex ducked low until the Nazi truck had moved on. She gave a sigh of relief as the sirens faded into the night. The frosted air curled upwards, then disappeared. Still, it felt just a little warmer inside. Curiosity overcame her as her eyes scanned the forlorn building. She began to ascend the stairs.

Each step creaked menacingly below her. Alex didn't mind. She was about half way up when she stopped and looked out and the equipment below. It was vast and eerie, fading into black at the far corners. The pale light from the moon outside spilled cold shadows onto the floor. The stairs suddenly creaked behind her. She froze. Someone was behind her. Silence. Her heart pounded. She was afraid to look. Nothing stirred. Alex slowly began to turn her head.

An incredible force hurled her into the railing. The rusted metal broke away, and she fell hard to the floor below. Pain racked through her body; the wind had been knocked out of her. Alex was suddenly wrenched up by the hood of her jacket. She fell backwards against the man's chest. He locked one arm around her waist and grabbed the corners of her jaw between his fingers, forcing her head onto his shoulder. Deep green coils fell in her face. Piercing violet eyes seemed to glow above an infamous smirk.

"Well, well, don't you look familiar?" his voice was low and androgynous, almost snake-like, sending shivers down her spine. He pressed his fingers together, squeezing her jaw. "Tell me, what's your name?" Alex choked on her words. The man squeezed tighter. The pain ached in her ears.

"Alexia! My name - name is Alexia!"

"Alexia _what_?" he asked with a tone of impatience. His grip tightened yet again. It felt as if her bones might break.

"Elric!" she cried. Tears slipped down her cheeks. She was terrified. The man relaxed with a low snicker.

"I thought so," he said, taking his fingers away from her chin. He began tracing the symbol on the back of her jacket. "You've got the Elric family traits after all." He took his hand from her waist and raked his fingers through her golden strands of hair, as if in thought.

"So," he asked absently, "How would you like to die?"

Alex felt her stomach drop. She suddenly flailed and burst away from him. The man caught her by the wrist and slammed her up against the wall. He grabbed her by the throat. There was a fiery anger blazing in his eyes.

"Where is he?!" he demanded.

She stared at him, wide-eyed with fear. She was bewildered, which seemed to make him angrier.

"Your father! What's his name?!"

"Ed-Edward…" she stammered.

The man's cold eyes slit to razors.

"Where _is _he?"

Alex's heart was palpitating. She groped desperately for something to tell him.

"He's on a book tour in America," she said quickly.

"Book tour?" the man scoffed. He played with the thought for a moment. Alex squirmed under his grip. He pressed her harder into the wall.

"Then he must tell stories, am I right?"

All the annoying fairytales she'd heard suddenly became important. She swallowed hard, wishing she'd paid better attention.

"Yes."

The man smirked,

"Who am I?"

Aury stared into those chilling, sadistic eyes. They were unnatural, inhuman. The stories she'd been told of the monsters disguised like people twisted to a knot inside her throat.

"H-homunculus?" she whispered, voice weak with fear. The man broke into an air of sick satisfaction. He tossed her into a conveyer belt. It crumpled under the force, slicing her sides with jagged edges. The dirt and rust stung her flesh; hot blood ran down her legs. She was shaking uncontrollably. Her mind was racing. This man was going to kill her. She should have never left home.

The homunculus knelt down beside her. He reached around the back of her head and grabbed a handful of her hair.

"Listen up," he said, "Ed's somewhere here in Germany and I know it. Now, I'm going to leave just enough breathe in you to say goodbye. When your father finds you…" he paused, letting out a low, malicious laugh "Tell your daddy Envy's back." He raised his arm. It began to glow, and his fingers dissolved into a blade. Alex screamed in horror.

Suddenly, Envy's eyes went blank. Alex looked up. There was Andy, standing over them, a shovel lodged in the back of Envy's skull. The homunculus fell over, dead. Alex stared in shock.

"Come on!" Andy pulled her up and ran outside. She stumbled behind, clutching his hand. The tow didn't stop until they were several blocks away. They huddled together in an alley.

"What happened?" Andy asked her frantically, "What was going on?!"

Alex couldn't speak. She was still shaking; the cold bit into her wounds. Andy took off his overcoat and draped it over her shoulders.

"Aury, it's okay. You're alright," he told her, rubbing her arms. A fresh flow of tears spilled over her cheeks. Deep in her gut, she knew it wasn't the last time she and Envy would meet.


End file.
